I've spent the weekend with a young family who had been forced to flee their homes after the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi. Akiko and Makoto Ishiyama had come to the UK to speak at a rally at Hinkley Point in Somerset on the first anniversary of the Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.
Hinkley Point is the proposed site of the first new nuclear power station in the UK. EDF, the French state-owned energy company, has applied to build two new reactors there. But many people are concerned and over one thousand have objected to the plans.
After the meltdown, said Makoto, the Japanese government kept insisting that everything was okay. But it was becoming obvious that they were not telling the truth. Finally, one of Makoto's friends, who worked at the Fukushima plant, told them that they should evacuate.
"We didn't want to give a risk to our future children and we were concerned about the future radiation risk," Makoto told the crowd. "We don't want to regret it in the future so decided to flee the city."
Thankfully the story ended happily. Akiko and Makoto moved to Hokkaido, Japan's second largest island, where they've found new jobs. But their story - and the stories of thousands of other people who were equally affected - are a striking reminder of what happens when nuclear power goes wrong.
Akiko and Makoto meet Green MP Caroline Lucas at Hinkley Point
Akiko and Makoto speaking to reporters
Akiko and Makoto address the crowd at Hinkley Point
